Murloc
thumb|A Murloc and a Baby Murloc = Overview = Aaaaaughibbrgubugbugrguburgle! (MP3 sound, Shockwave Flash sound) The murloc is a bipedal, amphibious, ichthyanoid (fish-like) race residing along coastlines, lakeshores and riverbeds, as well as in underwater ruins. Murlocs are distinguished by their bulbous bodies, large mouths lined with row upon row of sharp fangs, and slime-coated skin. Murlocs range in coloration from turquoise to darkish grey, and in height from 3-1/2 feet to 6 feet. Murloc culture is tribal in nature, and religion is generally shamanistic, with most villages containing a number of oracles and tidehunters, with coastrunners and warriors for defense. Habitations are generally crude huts with peaked roofs, huddled around a body of water. Oddly enough for amphibians, they prefer their food cooked, and will happily build campfires or even large bonfires which easily accommodate their favourite dish; the "spit-roasted gnome warlock". Murloc behaviors toward other races is best characterized as "hostile," and even more so as "unbelievably hostile." Typically, approaching within 100 yards of even one, apparently isolated, murloc will result in the subject letting forth the usual gurgling warcry and dragging forth his entire village of 20, emerging as if by magic, to battle the visitor. Such assaults generally result in a nasty, slimy overkill against the hapless tourist. Indeed, it is nearly impossible for even the most dedicated murloc hunter to get just one to himself -- three or four Murlocs are usually the bare minimum. Murloc hunting, however, is a time-honored avocation, particularly since murloc fins are a prized delicacy when used for soup broth, and slimy murloc scales are sought after by expert leatherworkers for use in crafting fine armor. In addition, hefty bounties are often placed on certain murlocs, due to their incredibly-pronounced disregard for the sanctity of life, generally-accepted notions of fair play, or simple common decency. Pounding one of them into guava jelly with a large mace is surprisingly satisfying. History right|A Murloc Murloc history first and foremost is mostly unknown since most of their own oral tradition is the repetition of unpronouncable forefathers. This renders it completely useless to most people as the murloc language has yet to be deciphered. What is known of murlocs comes from the accounts of the learned people of the world observing these curious creatures. What's been known up until now about the fish-men is the following: they are not the most intelligent creatures. They congregate on shorelines in tribes and villages. They have been known, in certain instances to worship enigmatic sea-deities (sometimes including naga). And they seem to care little for the mortal races. Though known to the Night Elves on Kalimdor for some time, the murlocs are relatively new to the eastern continents of Lordaeron and Azeroth. It is purported that murlocs are actually a very ancient race of the world, at least as old as the first Naga since the serpentine creatures enslaved a group of deep sea-dwelling murlocs known as the Mur'gul. These creatures have steadily been moving inland from their oceanic dwelling places, even adapting to fresh-water lakes and rivers in order to populate areas they would not normally be found in. Though they continue to inhabit more areas of Lordaeron and Azeroth, their supposed intelligence is debatable due to the fact that their gutteral language is impossibly difficult to decipher. However, their use of weaponry and uncanny fighting abilities imply a rather sinister racial intellect. In recent times, the Murlocs became unwittingly responsible for the shape of the present-day Horde. Murloc attacks on the Darkspear Tribe caused the Orcish Warchief Thrall and his warriors to first drive them off, and then subsequently form a alliance between the two tribes which lasts to this day, and formed the core of the modern day Horde, which the Tauren and then Forsaken were later to join. Known murloc territories/villages In these evil times, the murlocs have spread to many various regions of the World of Azeroth. On the western continent of Kalimdor, the murlocs are found with increasing frequency. In beplagued Lordaeron, many murloc tribes have mangaged to avoid the ravages of the undead plague. Further to the south in Azeroth proper, the murlocs are found in their greatest numbers. The tranquil Elwynn Forest is disturbed by an unnamed tribe of murlocs stalking Crystal Lake and Stone Cairn Lake. To the east in the rugged beauty of the Redridge Mountains, these same murlocs plague the waters of Lake Everstill. In golden Westfall, the murlocs terrorize the Longshore. Common Murloc Location: Elwynn Forest (lake, river, Stone Cairn Lake); Westfall (coastal, Longshore); Redridge Mountains (lake, Lake Everstill) Levels: 3 - 22 Classes: Coastrunner, Flesheater, Forager, Hunter, Lurker, Minor Oracle, Minor Tidecaller, Netter, Nightcrawler, Oracle, Raider, Scout, Shorestriker, Streamrunner, Tidecaller, Tiderunner, and Warrior Famous/Named: Squiddic (level 19, rare); Cookie (level 20, elite), Brack (level 18-19, rare); Slark (level 11-15, rare); Old Murk Eye (level 20, quest) Greymist Tribe Location: Darkshore (coastal) Levels: 8 - 20 Classes: Coastrunner, Hunter, Netter, Oracle, Raider, Seer, Tidehunter, and Warrior Famous/Named: Flagglemurk the Cruel (rare), Murkdeep (quest) Saltspittle Tribe Location: Ashenvale (lake Lake Falathim) Levels: 15 - 21 Classes: Muckdweller, Oracle, Puddlejumper, and Warrior Famous/Named: Mugglefin (rare) Blindlight Tribe Location: Ashenvale (subterranean, Blackfathom Deeps) Levels: 23 - 26 (elite) Classes: Muckdweller, Oracle Famous/Named: Gelihast (elite), Mutanus the Devourer (elite, Mutanus is found in The Wailing Caverns, he may or maynot be a Blindlight) Mirefin Tribe Location: Dustwallow Marsh (coastal) Levels: 33 - 38 Classes: Coastrunner, Muckdweller, Oracle, Puddlejumper, and Warrior Famous/Named: Burgle Eye (rare) Vile Fin Location: Tirisfal Glades (costal); Silverpine Forest (Lordamere Lake) These Murloc's come in to conflict with both the Rot Hide Gnolls and persistent Forsaken. To the south in Silverpine Forest, the Vile Fins build huts and villages along the shore and upon the islands of Lordamere Lake. Levels: 7 - 20 Classes: Lakestalker, Minor Oracle, Muckdweller, Oracle, Puddlejumper, Shorecreeper, Shredder, Tidecaller, and Tidehunter Famous/Named: Torn Fin Tribe Location: Hillsbrad Foothills (coastal) These lonely murlocs eke out an existence on the southern shores of the region. Levels: 25 - 32 Classes: Coastrunner, Muckdweller, Oracle, and Tidehunter Famous/Named: Scargil (rare) Bluegill Tribe Location: Wetlands (coastal, marshland) This is the only region in Khaz Modan that is hospitable to the murlocs' aquatic nature. The vast fens and sticky marshes are home to the Bluegill Tribe who are constantly hunted by the adventurers issuing out of Menethil Harbor. Levels: 16 - 29 Classes: Forager, Muckdweller, Oracle, Puddlejumper, Raider, and Warrior Famous/Named: Gobbler (quest) Saltscale Tribe Location: Stranglethorn Vale (coastal, the Vile Reef) This is an especially vicious breed of murlocs. Levels: 33 - 37 (elite) Classes: Forager, Oracle, Hunter, Tide Lord, and Warrior Famous/Named: Mirkgill Location: Stranglethorn Vale (lake) Levels: 31 - 37 Classes: Forager, Hunter, Lord, Oracle, and Warrior Famous/Named: Gluggle (rare) Marsh Tribe Location: Swamp of Sorrows (marshland) The Marsh murloc tribes live to the south and east of the ancient temple that lies in the fens. Levels: 40 - 45 Classes: Flesheater, Inkspewer, and Oracle Famous/Named: Swamp Talker (level 50-56, quest) Wide Grin Tribe The Wide Grin Tribe live on an island near Broken Isles. Turquoise-skinned with yellow bellies, all bear red tattoos of slitted eyes above wide toothy grins. Some paoint the symbol across their bodies as well. This tribe is supposed to be particularily ferocious and intelligent, and its members wield some of the best equipment. They usually content themselves with mincing rival murloc trible. Classes: Warrior, Rogue, and Shaman. Famous/Named: Ogloop Underworld Minions Location: Maelstrom (coastal, subterranean) This tribe of Murlocs worshiped a Ghost Sea Witch. This tribe used to have an underground lair, but it collapsed when Thrall escaped their dungeon. These were the First Murlocs introduced in to the Warcraft Universe. Suprisingly other members of the Underworld Minions included ghosts, golems, spiders, skeletons, gnolls, salamanders, golems, and sludges. Murloc Forces of the Underworld Minions Tribe These are the units found in the Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne campaign called Exodus of the Horde made by Blizzard Entertainment. *Heroes ** Ghost Sea Witch (mystical hero adept at attacking from afar and destroying buildings) ** Murloc Sorcerer (mystical hero adept at attacking from afar) *Buildings **Bone Chipper (provides food and attacks units) **Murloc Hut (provides food and makes units) **Altar of the Deep (provides food and raises heroes) *Fighting Units **Murloc Tiderunner (light melee unit) **Murloc Seacultist(light ranged and caster unit) **Murloc Huntsman (heavy ranged unit) **Murloc Flesheater (heavy melee unit) **Siege Golem (siege and caster unit) Famous Murlocs * Burgle Eye: Level 38 rare. He can be found wandering the coastline Murloc encampments of Dustwallow Marsh. * Brack: Level 19 rare. He can be found wandering the beaches of Westfall to the south. * Cookie: Level 20 Elite. Found onboard Edwin VanCleef's ship in the Deadmines. Also he seems to be the ships cook. * Gluggle: Level 37 rare. Found in the ruins north of Grom'gol Base Camp in Stranglethorn Vale. * Gobbler: Level 22. Can be found in Bluegill Marsh in Wetlands and is involved in the quest Claws from the Deep. * Mutanus the Devourer: Level 22 elite. Although marked as Humanoid, this thing surely looks like a giant Murloc. He is the end boss of Wailing Caverns and can be fought after defeating the 4 fanglords. * Old Murk-Eye: Level 20. Can be found on the western shores of Westfall. He is needed for the quest The Coastal Menace * Scargil: Level 30 rare. Found on the beach west of Southshore in Hillsbrad. * Slark: Level 15 rare. He can be found wandering the beaches of Westfall to the north. * Swamp Talker: Level 50 to 56. Found in a cave east of Stonard in the Swamp of Sorrows. He is involved in the quest The Swamp Talker. Baby Murlocs See Baby Murloc. = Official Info = * Info about The Murlocs on the official WoW-Europe site (en). Murloc origins are shrouded in mystery. This is due not only to the fact that these creatures appeared on Azeroth's shores fairly recently (as far as world history goes, anyway) but also because murlocs shun mortals and rarely, if ever, speak anything but their own garbled language. What's been known up until now about the fish-men is the following: they are not the most intelligent creatures. They congregate on shorelines in tribes and villages. They have been known, in certain instances to worship enigmatic sea-deities (sometimes including naga). And they seem to care little for the mortal races. However, recent accounts by select individuals who managed to gather information— either by spying, torturing or surreptitiously gaining the murlocs' trust, have brought some interesting details to light… First, murlocs may not be as dumb as everyone thinks they are. Several clues point to the fact that their steady infiltration of the world's land masses may be a coordinated effort. Whether or not this enterprise has been undertaken strictly of their own accord is not yet known. Murlocs also speak the language, Nerglish a language shared by Makrura. The Murloc Sorcerer could speak in Thrall's own language. Also, the murloc race may be far older than most believe. Several accounts and clues seem to substantiate this. In fact, it is now believed that murlocs (or, more appropriately, their ancestors) may even pre-date trolls. Of course these ancient murlocs lived in the oceans' depths and therefore were never known to the world's early land-dwelling races. In the last few years, the vile naga have begun reemerging from their watery abodes, causing historians to speculate that their migration may have triggered the murlocs' slow encroachment onto land. Some also guessed that the murlocs might be working in concert with the sinister amphibians. But perhaps the most startling revelation to come from recent intelligence-gathering efforts was this: the naga may not be the only nightmarish horrors lurking in the seemingly bottomless oceans of the world. Several indicators from the murlocs themselves point to the possibility that the fish-men are but worshippers or underlings of perhaps several deep-sea monstrosities that currently lie sleeping, or at least waiting, in the murky fathoms— and even more disturbing, that the murlocs' emergence is an indication of their incipient awakening. If that is the case, the mysterious and somewhat underestimated murlocs may be the world's first glimpse at something far more terrifying. ©2006 Blizzard Entertainment Fan Sites Mulocs have spawned a large following of fans in the Warcraft Community. This had lead to the creation of Websites, Fan Fictions, Videos and Games like the ones below! http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/301531 http://www.craftingworlds.com/savemurlocs/ http://www.g4tv.com/videos/index.html?video_key=10299 http://www.g4tv.com/videos/index.html?video_key=9913 Category:Creatures Category:Primitive Creatures Category:Humanoid Category:Intelligent Creatures